[Review] The Fresh Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet

Perhaps nothing announces spring better than enveloping your senses in the smell of fresh peonies, with a hint of fruity combination and so much more. Fragrance ignites your senses and most definitely transports you into a world of memories, be it in the recent now or a far far distant away, calling you into the sweet embraces of the yesteryear.

When we first put on this latest addition to the Dior fragrance family, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet strike us as very fresh, almost illusive to our senses kind of fragrance. All things seem to fade away and made way for a scene out of a movie, almost. Seriously? Yes *_^

We could vaguely see the wetness of the afternoon rain, hitting incessantly against the rooftop of the bus stop, the only shelter we had, back then, from the sudden rain fall (we were two university students madly in love, on a bike ride to town). The sound of the merciless rain was deafening yet it could not mask the pounding beat of our nervous heart. Trapped there, with our first love, we could almost feel his warmness beside us, yet, we were too timid to admit that, we had so much crazy love for him that we could almost explode into thousand rain drops at that very moment, and silently wish that he could just turn around, and give us a warm big hug.

Reaching out to touch the rain, it felt like the freshness of spring, but only in our imagination for we were two naive young souls, who barely started out in our relationship, never to realize that it would only last for a mere one month...

If we could turn back the clock, we would freeze that moment in time, that very afternoon, when that sudden splash of water from the passing by car made us jumped in excitement, yet cursing underneath our breaths, secretly hoping that this rain would never end! That was how silly it seemed, now looking back. Yet, it was so dreamy, that point in time, when you were head over heels, falling in love with someone, for the very first time.

[Inspiration | Musing] Yoon Eun Hye For Korea Vogue April 2015

Wandering through the remains of autumn and winter, trying to capture that little spirit of spring, it seems almost a far distant memory of recollection, one of desperation, but never the less, a beautiful yearning that could only be felt, stronger and stronger, each passing day. Or perhaps for some, spring has already arrived?

Even it may seem a little futile, but spring will most definitely arrive, no matter, as this is only natural  and a part of life. The changing of time can only mean the change of hearts, yet that feeling remains intact, kept away in the ruins of the castle of hope and the lush grounds of wishing.

By tomorrow comes, I turn a year older, does it mean a year wiser? Perhaps yes, maybe not. After 42 years of existence, I merely understand only a glimpse, of what this life holds for me. Am I at a happy place? I constantly ask myself, this very question. Again, it is never a clear straightforward one-word answer, I come to realize.

M.A.C Toledo: The Art of Being Arty

What usually lures you when you reach for that lipstick or that eyeshadow palette to add to your makeup collection? Is it the colours, the textures or the packaging? Most often than not, as much as we try to deny it (we are guilty of it ourselves *_^), we do pick some items up due to the attractiveness of certain packaging of the products (and of course, comes the rest!). This time around, the latest artist collaboration range between cosmetics leader, M.A.C and fashion's most romantic couples, Isabel and Ruben Toledo will definitely wow you into reaching for them. 

It is such a colourful artistic expressions of Ruben's long renowned award-winning and imaginative work in fashion design and illustration, coupled with Isabel's sense of colours and play of textures, incorporated perfected in this collection called M.A.C Toledo. It is such a collection of irreverent colour designed to inspire endless play.

We particular love how each item looks almost like a miniature of art pieces, filled with fluid painter's lines, the expressive yet experimental approach to the drawings of the feature of the face like eyes and lips, with bold red colours. According to Ruben, he was inspired by the fluidity of the lines and the spur of the moment feel to it. If he is doing a portrait, he starts with the eyes. If they eyes did not speak to him, then he will just start all over again. For him, he needs to capture that one thing that would attract and that is the mystery and the soul of that particular feature. Drawing is his love and for Ruben, it is his passion on paper.

As for the other half, Isabel (designer of Michelle Obama's 2009 inauguration dress), she is equally as involved and particular as how she would in her fashion, right down to choosing the fabric. She wanted to work with tones and textures for this special collection, therefore she created both shiny and matte lipsticks. The Blush Ombrés were created with beautiful hues of colour from light to dark. For her, makeup is not just what it does on the surface but how it makes you feel inside. Makeup is of an ethereal nature to Isabel. She wanted to create makeup that felt like sculptures and had a three-dimensional feel to it.

[Faces] The Creative Master Mind Behind CLANHOUSE: Part 1

To say we were thrilled was an understatement as scoring an interview date with one of our most beloved design idols was a long time wish of ours and to be able to catch this man (who is constantly on the go) was truly a surprise. But he quickly said yes to us, which really put us at ease. And boy, we were counting down to the day that we could finally meet him face to face and that day came much earlier than expected *_^

When we first stepped into the executive lounge of The Gardens Hotel at the 29th floor that evening,  not too long ago, there he was, seated at the table by the window, finishing up his dinner. With a grin on his face, Wei Chun greeted us warmly. Cheah Wei Chun, a name that is synonymous with creating those beautiful fashion editorials that we fell in love with way back, is the creative director behind those stunning local fashion magazine covers and fashion editorials for GLAM Malaysia all these years. Founder of CLANHOUSE, Wei Chun's love for design was cemented way back when he decided to make a move to New Zealand to further his tertiary education and honed his skills more in the university in the early 90s. Our friendship with him started when we were producing our very first fashion TV show called Mifa8 Fashion Forward back in 1997!  Seated across this Penang-ite, after all these years and really having an intimate conversation with our friend truly made us appreciate the art of design even more.

We started from quite the very beginning.

How did it all begin?
Gosh, my journey was one filled with doses of drama and surprises. Back then, like most conservative Chinese parents, studying arts was never an option, law looked more promising to them than anything else, but faith had it that by some twist of events (and a bit of luck here and there), I managed to change from studying English in University to doing Arts back then. After university, I  went to Singapore to further my career. That time in 1994, it was a good timing for corporate design work as that was the boom of annual reports for companies in Singapore. I was doing work at a design company for about four to five years.

[Sneak Peek] Lunasol Summer 2015 Makeup Collection

Our friends at Lunasol Malaysia sent us an invitation some time ago and we had the pleasure of dropping by to Lunasol's counter earlier this week and checking out their up-and-coming Summer collection which will only be available this coming June 2015. The best part was, we also had a chance to meet with Japanese makeup artist, Inokubo Satoru. He specially did a makeover on us, letting us have a first hand experience of the Lunasol Summer 2015 collection and there are some really beautiful makeup items there. 

Here is a sneak peek of the collection, we are eye-ing on those lovely pastel nail colours and the eyeshadow palette is also really pretty! Will just leave you with a teaser and shall update you on the collection more once we have detailed information available to us.

A big thanks again to Kanebo's Lunosal Malaysia team for making the special arrangement and having us there! Hope you are having a magical week and stay luminous always, lovelies *_^

Facebook    |    Instagram    |    Pinterest    |    Flicker    |    Twitter    |    Bloglovin    |    Polyvore

Shiatzy Chen: 36 Years of Chinese Grandeur In Fashion

Steep in history and Chinese culture, the allure of the ancient past paved the foundation to the brand's creations since its establishment in 1978, almost like the haunting call of the beauty from the deep echoes of the Chinese palaces from a far distance, when women adorned in the most finest materials, weaved with embroideries, decadent in intricate details, Shiatzy Chen took this very piece of the history and has mastered the very essence of marrying both the traditions of the Chinese elements with the technology of the Western's craftsmanship over the years. The result is an array of traditional inspired pieces, with a modern interpretation that are both hypnotic and inspiring, in a very expressive way. 

We chance upon this Taiwanese fashion brand one fine day as we wondered into the lost world of Starhill. The exhibition space that showcased the pieces specially made for the 35th Anniversary celebration of the brand immediately captured our attention. Once stepped into the gallery, Shiatzy Chen transported us to an ancient mysterious world that is filled with wonders of grand designs, extravagant pieces of jackets and layers of sophistication that we could only be at awed with!

What we have also learnt from the PR manager, as he graciously shown us around, was that Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia (aka Shiatzy Chen) herself is very much a huge proponent of the Chinese culture and its history, implementing as much of the traditional motives into her creations, such as calligraphy inspired designs. Elements like embroidery, Chinese jade and Chinese jackets are among the signature of the brand. She is also one of the only Chinese fashion designer who is responsible for bringing the traditional embroideries of Miao ethnic tribe to the world of fashion, preserving a part of this Chinese mountain tribe's rich artistry that is fast disappearing due to modernization.

[Musing] The Little Things That Put A Smile On Us

Beautiful it is to share our love and thoughts even if the distance presents itself upon us, on such a Saturday. Some things, such as this one, can be planned while a bigger part of us secretly believe, the rest in life is quite beyond us. Life seems to unfold itself and we will just have to, go with it.

It is like coming up with a blog post. We are usually inspired by a certain visual we come across, or that particular emotion we feel, deriving from that. They are not planned plan in some ways. They just... happen. It is not to say, we take a passive approach towards things in life (we are but a control freak, as much as we refuse to admit, most of the time *_^), it is just that at times, the feeling of losing control can be a welcoming thought to entertain. Don't you think? 

We try and learn to appreciate the little things in life, though happiness rarely attach itself to "worldly things", we feel, but rather the state of mind we will ourselves to be in (which we are still hard at learning, honestly). Nonetheless, appreciating beauty in all things, looking at them, from a rather surreal perspective, do give us that sense of happiness. Not too sure if we are making any sense.

Blogging has also allow us the time to create and share our emotions and feelings, though most of the time, it is a great deal of hard work, effort and time invested, yet, it also gives us that indescribable kind of happiness. Perhaps it has to do with writing. Writing has always been our love, from the very beginning. Maybe it has to do  with the emotional connection that we get by putting across beauty in life, to the world.

We wonder, on such a Saturday, what are the little things in life now, that put a smile on your beautiful face? Does blogging make you happy, in some ways, like us? We sincerely hope so. The week ahead can be enveloped with a little silence from our end, but hey, who knows, there may be surprises that creep up ever so quietly upon us, right? We will never know... we are feeling like listening to this ballad from Malaysian award-winning singer, 张起政 singing this beautiful number entitled "Having Said I Love You" (picture shown here is not the singer *_^). Music makes us really happy too!

Enjoy your day and be luminously happy always, lovelies *_^ All visuals via LUMI's Pinterest here.

Facebook    |    Instagram    |    Pinterest    |    Flicker    |    Twitter    |    Bloglovin    |    Polyvore

Recreating The M.A.C Enlightened 2015 Trend Look!

We were super excited when our friends at M.A.C Malaysia gave us the idea that we could actually schedule an appointment with them and their professional makeup artist will show us how to re-create the latest runway look of Spring/Summer 2015! Of course, we said yes and jumped to the first opportunity to learn from the professionals. Our pick? The Enlightened trend (previously featured here).

The makeup artist assigned for showing me the trend look was none other than Ash Chong, who has a wealth of experience working backstage runway shows in Hong Kong and across the region just recently, before our meet-up. Sonia, the PR manager also came along for the session, making sure that I have all that I needed for the day. The products to adapt the Enlightened runway look were all ready upon my arrival. Without delay, Ash started work on my oh-so-bare-without-a-trace-of-makeup morning face! (haha, felt so naked *_^)

First thing first, Ash said a good makeup starts with good hydration to the face. So, after a quick cleansing, the M.A.C Lightful C Marine-Bright Formula Softening Lotion and Marine-Bright Formula Moisture Creme were applied, giving my face the much needed hydration. According to Ash, the Softening Lotion helps to soften the dead skin cells and preps the face for the next step. This is especially crucial to create the Enlightened trend look.

Then M.A.C Face and Body Foundation was applied using a stippling brush. The reason this foundation was chosen because it is a low-to-medium buildable coverage foundation that would give a natural finish, which the Enlightened trend is going for. It is also water-resistant. Ash also went through the trend looks from the book and told me that the face needs to be kept minimum and let the skin shine through ever so slightly, but drawing light towards only a certain part of the face - highlighting a few key features. Concealing was done using M.A.C Studio Conceal and Correct Palette on a few selected areas of the face (namely my eye bags!) there after. The M.A.C Prep + Prime Highlighter pen was used to highlight key points of my face.

[Inspiration|Musing] Black and White Kind of Monday

The weekend hurried by like a sand storm, leaving us a little lethargic due to the work in demand, but today, it feels almost like a black and white sort of Monday, stripping away whatever that is left of the colours of the weekend, left behind this gust of airy feeling of subtraction, of solitude and of a certain calmness.

Hoping to recuperate a little and catch our breath for a breather, tomorrow is yet another planned day filled with activities. The week is only going to get busier when the school holiday arrives, where a travel plan is in place.

Pisidia: The New Luxury Innovative Bag Brand In Town

Window shopping has its perks and one of them is discovering new brands in town. Recently, the clean, modern aesthetics of the bags of this particular brand caught our attention when we passed by the boutique. "Stop right there!" As much as our brain told us not to take another step further, our feet did the convincing and won over, we succumbed to it, after a nudge from our hubby. The luxurious decor was too hard to resist as well *_^ Our new discovery that day was a brand called PISIDIA.

After roaming around the boutique, their latest Spring/Summer 2015 Collection really had our interest piqued. We love the fact that the thematic concept of this collection is very architectural, with geometrical designs that lend a futuristic air to them, adding layers to the texture of the bags, satisfying our tactile experience and they look really chic too. The men's collection is equally enticing and appealing to the eyes, we feel. Pisidia is a luxury bags and accessories brand based out of Hong Kong, Berlin and London. They even have boutiques now in China and recently here in KL, Malaysia. What makes it interesting is the materials used for their products.